Angola and Gabon 'to become holiday hotspots'

An analysis of the World Travel and Tourism Council’s (WTTC) growth figures, by the website Lovehomeswap.com, revealed 50 destinations that could emerge as holiday hotspots over the next ten years.

They are ranked according to the projected growth per annum of travel and tourism as a direct contribution to GDP. While many of those countries on the list are already firm favourites among British travellers – such as China (5), Thailand (9), India (11), Morocco (41), and Croatia (45) – there were some surprises.

The top ten included two rarely visited African countries – Angola and Gabon, each of which the WTTC expects to see an annual growth in tourism of 7.3 per cent between now and 2024.

“Over a decade has passed since the end of Angola’s civil war,” explains Lovehomeswap’s infographic. “Although the damage is still widespread, the country is gradually recovering. The national parks are slowly being restocked with wildlife from neighbouring states, and tourism is set to grow exponentially.”

Gabon, it adds, has been restricted by poor infrastructure, but “improvements are being made, and visitors will soon begin to take advantage of excellent safari, fishing, and whale watching opportunities.” Britons will have a tougher time reaching it – the best bet would be to fly first to Paris, and then hop on an Air France service to Libreville, its capital.

Mongolia came 13th on the list. “A former Communist state, [it] remained untouched by visitors for decades. However, since the 1990 Democratic Revolution, the government has invested heavily in tourism”. Several tour operators already offer trips – including Cox & Kings.

Kuwait – “now a burgeoning holiday hotspot, thanks in part to the famed Kuwaiti hospitality” – came 15th; Uzbekistan – “a popular destination amongst mountaineers and rock climbers” was 20th; Iraq – “[despite the] political situation… two million people are drawn to the country’s rich cultural and archaeological history each year, and this figure is set to rise” – came 24th; and the Democratic Republic of the Congo – “yet to recover from the devastating Second Congo War… [it] has plenty of untapped potential, which could foster a healthy safari industry”.